What the work actually involves

This is design work performed as training data, not client work. On a typical task you might be given a product brief and asked to produce a wireframe or high-fidelity Figma layout, then write out why you chose that grid, type scale, or hierarchy in enough detail that a model can learn the reasoning rather than copy the pixels. Other tasks run the other direction: you're shown a model-generated interface or graphic and asked to critique it — spacing violations, contrast failures, misapplied type hierarchy, affordances that don't read as interactive — and to rank competing outputs against each other with a written justification for the ordering.

Expect a mix of generation and evaluation. The written component is heavier than most design jobs. Designers who work fast in Figma but explain decisions with "it just feels balanced" tend to struggle here; the artifact is only half the deliverable and the rationale is the part that trains the model.

What the screen looks for

  • A real portfolio with shipped work. micro1's screen is AI-led and will ask you to walk through specific projects, including constraints you worked under and what you'd change now.
  • Depth under follow-up on fundamentals. Typography, color, layout systems, and accessibility come up as concrete questions — type scale ratios, WCAG contrast thresholds, why a particular hierarchy failed — not as buzzwords.
  • Figma fluency at a systems level. Components, variants, auto layout, tokens. Being a competent Figma drawer is not the same as building a design system in it.
  • Critique discipline. Can you say what's wrong with a design specifically, ranked by severity, without either hedging or dressing up taste as principle?

Logistics

Contractor engagement, remote, US-based. Work is asynchronous and milestone-driven — you pick up tasks from a queue rather than sitting in standups, and volume fluctuates with the customer's project needs. Most contributors treat this as part-time alongside other work; a stated weekly commitment of 10–20 hours is common. Pay in the $30–80/hr range has been observed and typically tracks seniority, portfolio depth, and task complexity rather than being fixed at onboarding.